Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

10 Delicious Boxed Cake Mix Brands for New Bakers

When Marie Antoinette proclaimed, “Let them eat cake,” she didn’t say it had to be homemade. Baking from scratch is not as easy as it seems; it requires a level of precision and patience not everyone can master. For those of us, like me, who aren’t natural-born pastry chefs, box mixes have been our saving grace, and the fact that you can find a box cake mix for almost every flavor and lifestyle is just the icing on the cake.  From cupcakes to birthday bakes, your favorite gluten-free, keto-friendly, confetti or fruit-filled dessert is just one box away. So the next time you are salivating for a slice, these are the best box cake mixes to buy.

Related Guides

Related Videos

Betty Crocker Super Moist Cake Mix

Betty is a household name, trusted for almost everything that bakes. From the classic super moist to their triple chocolate fudge, this box cake mix is the closest to homemade you can get.

Keto and Co Cake Mix

Now you can have your cake and Keto, too! This low-carb cake mix comes in vanilla, chocolate, as well as a frosting mix so you can have your sweet fix and stay in ketosis.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Cake Mix

The chocolatiers behind the most decadent bars have turned their famous dark chocolate into one of the richest, moist, and delicious cake mixes on the market.

King Arthur Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix

Now you can enjoy all of the goodness of baking without any of the gluten. King Arthur’s knows a thing or two about flour and their gluten-free mix makes a cake that’s fit for a king.

Swerve Sweets Vanilla Cake Mix

For a cleaner cake, Swerve is serving a grain-free, gluten-free, carb-conscious mix full of good-for-you ingredients without skimping on taste.

Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix

Cupcakes and sprinkles go hand in hand and Pillsbury takes them to the next level. With both the cake and icing loaded with sprinkles, this mix is an edible explosion of color and fun.

Duncan Hines Signature Carrot Cake Mix

Another long-time favorite, you can’t go wrong with Duncan. Their signature line reaches beyond just flour to add real veggies and fruits for a classic carrot cake mix that will have you coming back for seconds.

Jiffy Golden Yellow Cake Mix

There is a reason why Jiffy has been in pantries since the 1930s. The king of cornbread also makes a pretty great cake. No gimmicks and no glitz, just a yellow cake mix that doesn’t miss.

Krusteaz Meyer Lemon Pound Cake

Just thinking about a moist, lemony cake makes your mouth water. This lemon pound cake mix from Krusteaz is loaded with all the citrusy flavors we love without any of the hard work.

Editors' Recommendations

Is erythritol harmful? What a dietitian says new data means for your Keto diet
Erythritol is common in many keto foods - what does that mean for your health?
erythritol in keto diet advice

While sugar substitutes have been around for more than a century, they didn't really become mainstream here in the United States until around the mid-70s. According to Carolyn De La Pena, professor of American Studies at UC Davis and author of Empty Pleasures: The Story of Artificial Sweeteners from Saccharin to Splenda, between 1975 and 1984, Americans increased their consumption of artificial sweeteners by 150 percent. This timeline makes sense when you take into account that the late seventies coincided with the start of our crazed diet culture and the revolving door of fad diets.
One such diet that doesn't seem to be going anywhere, however, is the Keto diet. Still hugely popular among Americans trying to shed a few pounds, Keto focuses heavily on limited or no carbohydrates. Because sugar contains carbohydrates, followers of Keto have turned to artificial sweeteners to satisfy those late-night cravings - sweeteners that, more often than not, contain erythritol. Erythritol in particular has become hugely popular because it's much better for baking than other sugar substitutes, has less of an artificial flavor, and will keep the eater in Ketosis, which is key for losing weight on the Keto diet.
A new study has made waves recently because its findings indicate there's a link between erythritol and higher rates of heart attack and stroke (though the study did note that only an association was found — not causation. So should you be worried?
We asked Dan LeMoine, RD, the award-winning author of Fear No Food and the Clinical Director at Phoenix-based Re:vitalize Nutrition, what he had to say about erythritol, including its benefits and potential health risks. "Artificial sweeteners are still sweeteners. While many are non-nutritive or zero-calorie, we tend to view them similarly as we do regular sweeteners or sugars — moderation is key. While many have amazing implications on weight loss – being low to no-calorie options and having little impact on blood sugar, some have their downside," he says.

While some of that sugar substitution has been good for waistlines and health issues that come from obesity, it seems to be causing more and more concern when it comes to other potential health issues. "For example," says LeMoine, "some research indicates the popular sweeteners stevia may have negative effects on the gut microbiome. And the recent study showing correlation between the sugar alcohol, erythritol, and heart attack and stroke."

Read more
Feeling adventurous? 5 of the weirdest cocktails from around the globe
Would you order a cocktail with a pickled human toe? You can in Canada, apparently
unusual and unique cocktails sourtoe cocktail

We all love a good cocktail, but it's easy to tire of the classics. There's nothing wrong with a perfectly frosty, salted-rimmed margarita, or a warm-to-your-bones, cherry-topped old-fashioned, but sometimes, you just want something new. Something that makes you think. Something that, perhaps, gives you a chuckle. These are those cocktails.
Pig's Blood Piña Colada (USA)

Back in 2014, bartender Jason Brown of Chicago's Kinmont restaurant and bar, concocted this cocktail after listening to a Werewolves of London lyric about a werewolf drinking a pina colada. His creativity sparked, and the "Werewolves of London" cocktail was born.

Read more
These foods high in melatonin will help you sleep better
Get a better sleep naturally by eating these 9 melatonin foods
Hands holding wine grapes.

Getting a quality night's sleep becomes more and more of a challenge as we age. Some of us have tried blackout curtains, sleep masks, weighted blankets, or any number of supplements promising better rest. If you're looking for an all-natural solution, though, melatonin is the way to go. Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally in the pineal gland in the brain. Among several functions, melatonin plays a key role in regulating the body’s circadian rhythms, or sleep-wake cycles. Accordingly, the pineal gland produces more melatonin when the sun goes down, and levels dip at daybreak. Foods high in melatonin or even melatonin supplements are a popular way to increase the concentration of melatonin and possibly improve the quality and quantity of sleep.
Melatonin supplements are typically non-habit-forming and safe for adults and children in doses of around 0.5 to 5 milligrams. However, melatonin supplements may cause drowsiness, nausea, and dizziness, and they can interfere with certain medications.

Fortunately, if you’re looking to support your body’s own natural melatonin levels but you don’t want to rely on supplements, there are several sleep-aid foods that contain melatonin. Adding any of these foods high in melatonin to your dinner plate or bedtime snack routine may help regulate your sleep patterns over time and help you get more restful sleep. Though little nutritional data exists about the specific concentration of melatonin in different foods, the following foods are known to be particularly high in melatonin.

Read more